There’s a chance the late model lineup Sunday night for the Titan Wheel and Tire Shootout could be stronger overall than the July 8 United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) Summer Nationals. At worst, it should be comparable.

Sunday’s annual $3,000 to win event will attract the best the IMCA offers in the Tri-State area. Look for plenty of the Deery Brothers Summer Series tour cars, plus some travelers. All drivers registered with the IMCA have been contacted.

The only larger IMCA purse is the $10,000-to-win Pepsi USA Nationals later this season.

The feature will be 50 laps with a draw/redraw format. This is the third year for the $3,000 first-place paycheck.

There will be plenty of other prize money on the line, too. The modifieds will be vying for $500 to win, stock cars $400 and hobby stocks $250.

This race is normally on the July 4 weekend, but has been moved up a week this year. RECENT TITAN WHEEL AND TIRE LATE MODEL SHOOTOUT WINNERS

Simply divide the number of points a driver has earned by the
maximum number available. This little statistical toy shows much specific drivers dominate their divisions, in addition to the raw points standings.

Lumping all the drivers together might not be fair, but it illustrates how much some divisions are thoroughly dominated by one or two drivers and what series are more wide open. Obviously, Long (and Tony Dunker is not far behind) stands tall in the modifieds. Notice there is only late model driver listed? That shows how tight the late model title race is.

Long’s near-perfect score took a hit Sunday night when his front end broke late in the feature. Now, we have a race, with several drivers now within striking distance of the top percentage.

Stock cars are not eligible to be listed since that series’ heat races do not award points.

Looking at the top percentage of feature laps runs shows one extremely important item — which driver(s) can be counted on week in, week out to be there at the checkers. Remember the old axiom "to finish first, first you have to finish."

I find it interesting that only driver, Chris Wibbell in stock cars, has run all possible feature laps. Michael Long in modifieds fell from that accomplishment Sunday night when he bowed out four laps from the end with mechanical issues.

Stock car driver John Oliver Jr.’s middle name should be "Almost." No driver at Quincy Raceways has "almost" won as many features as Oliver. He has finished second four times this season. Here’s a look at the runner-up in each series:

The closest feature finishes through June 22 (note how many are stock car main events):

1, Jake Wenig, stock cars, 0.096 of a second over John Oliver Jr., May 182. Keith Pratt, late models, 0.252 of a second over Justin Reed, May 4.3. Steve Steinkuhler, stock cars, 0.344 of a second over John Oliver Jr., June 14. Travis Booher, hobby stocks, 0.366 of a second over James Leffew, June 85. Dave Wietholder, stock cars, 0.387 of a second over Doug Huls, June 226. Aaron Brocksieck, hobby stocks, 0.366 of a second over James Leffew, April 277. Chris Wibbell, stock cars, 0.434 of a second over Doug Huls, April 208. Michael Long, modifieds, 0.452 of a second over Steve Arpin, May 49. Dustin Griffin, late models, 0.540 of a second over Jason Frankel, June 810. Jeff Mueller, stock cars, 0.549 of a second over John Oliver Jr.

Comments (2)

Hear alot of people complain about the dry track, but at least it wasn’t filled with ruts. I don’t understand why the features weren’t started straight up by points. Doesn’t IMCA allow tracks to do that for mid-season championships? Especially on a slick track like that at least the top points guys wouldn’t be penalized for a change.

Hear alot of people complain about the dry track, but at least it wasn’t filled with ruts. I don’t understand why the features weren’t started straight up by points. Doesn’t IMCA allow tracks to do that for mid-season championships? Especially on a slick track like that at least the top points guys wouldn’t be penalized for a change.